by Carew, Opal
“What the hell are you doing here?” Ty’s voice grated harshly through the hallway.
“Ty?” Zeke pulled the sunglasses from his face, revealing olive green eyes, a little warmer and more vivid than Ty remembered.
At Zeke’s surprised expression, Ty immediately realized Zeke wasn’t here to see him. That meant …
“You God damned son of a bitch, you’d better not be here to—” Ty bit off his sentence as he heard a door open. He jerked around to see Marie peer down the hallway.
“Ty? Is something wrong?” she asked.
He gritted his teeth, shot a sharp glare at Zeke, then turned back to her.
“Of course not. This your friend?” He almost choked on the last word as he nudged his head toward the bastard standing just down the hall from him.
She spotted Zeke and the concern in her eyes melted to a soft, wistful gaze, her lips turning up in a smile. Ty’s chest clenched at the sight.
“Zeke. You’re here. Sorry, I haven’t started dinner. I got in late.”
“No problem. We can just order in.”
Marie’s gaze switched from Zeke to Ty then back again. “Do … you two know each other?”
Ty’s eyes blazed as his teeth grated together.
“Yeah, we … went to the same high school,” Zeke answered.
Ty strode toward his apartment and unlocked the door, then disappeared inside without another word.
* * *
Zeke watched Marie stare at Ty’s closing door. Zeke walked toward her and resisted the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her, not wanting to further antagonize Ty if he happened to come out of his apartment again.
“Sorry, Ty doesn’t usually behave that way. Did something happen?” she asked.
“He was just … surprised to see me here, that’s all.”
“I was sure I heard raised voices.”
“I didn’t say he was happy to see me.”
Her eyebrows arched. “I take it it’s a long story?”
He nodded as they entered her apartment and shut the door.
She sat down beside him on the couch. “I’ve got the time.”
He shrugged. He did not intend to tell her about the rift between him and his old friend. He didn’t know what kind of relationship existed between Ty and Marie. Even if he did, he wouldn’t reveal any secrets from Ty’s past. He wouldn’t do anything that Ty might interpret as a further betrayal of their friendship.
Ex-friendship as far as Ty was concerned—Zeke’s chest tightened at the thought—but Zeke would never give up on them. Ty had been the best friend Zeke had ever known, and if there was ever anything he could do to mend the rift between them, he’d do it. If it hadn’t been for Ty, Zeke’s life would be very different right now. In fact, he’d probably be in jail.
“How about you get me a beer instead?”
“Then you’ll talk?”
He slid his arms around her and tugged her to his body, then devoured her lips until she was breathless. “I can think of way better things to do than talking.”
He kissed her again, enjoying the sweet feel of her soft lips against his, the delicate fragrance of herbal shampoo from her hair, and the intoxicating sensation of her pebbling nibbles pushing into his chest.
He grinned at her. “Now, how about that beer?”
She blinked, then stroked his cheek with her soft hand, her delicate tender touch reaching a place deep inside him.
She smiled. “You’re not insisting on naked this time?”
An instant replay of Tuesday night’s request to bring him a beer naked flashed through his brain, making his cock swell.
“Not this time. I need to keep you on your toes. Anyway, we’d never get to dinner, and I’m hungry. How about you?”
“Oh yeah. I’m hungry all right.” Her eyes filled with a simmering sexual hunger that mirrored his own.
But he didn’t want to act on it yet. Not in his current frame of mind.
“Okay, that’s it. Off with you, you vamp. Go get that beer.” He lifted her by the waist and set her on her feet, then patted her firm round behind.
She laughed, then sauntered toward the kitchen with an exaggerated wiggle of her hips.
He watched as she disappeared into the kitchen. Sweet, loving, intensely sexy Marie. A woman he was sure he could fall for completely.
He remembered Ty’s protest when he realized Zeke was here to see Marie. Clearly, he hadn’t wanted Zeke anywhere near her. In fact, given Ty’s possessive reaction, Zeke suspected Ty had a thing for her. How could he not? The woman was beautiful, sweet, sensual. The whole package.
Ty had been his best friend, and at a time when he’d needed a friend badly. Ty had saved Zeke’s butt more than once.
Damn, Zeke knew he’d give up anything to mend the rift between him and Ty.
But would he be able to give up Marie?
* * *
Marie opened the fridge and pulled out a tall brown bottle of beer. She set it on the granite counter and opened the drawer, then rifled through for the bottle opener. Jade leapt onto the counter to see what Marie was doing. She picked up the cat, snuggled her close, then put her back on the floor.
What was the deal with Ty and Zeke?
She couldn’t believe they knew each other. They were totally different types. Of course, knowing each other didn’t mean they’d been friends. Might Zeke have been the school bully, leaving hard feelings between him and Ty? But despite his tough-guy nature, she didn’t believe Zeke to be the bullying type.
She’d love to talk to Ty about this and find out what happened between them, but she suspected Ty would be just as tight-lipped as Zeke.
She found the opener and flicked the metal cap off the bottle. The frosty brown glass and the yeasty smell made her mouth water. She grabbed another bottle from the fridge and opened it for herself. In her short time with Zeke, she found she was acquiring a taste for beer. She smiled. Especially when running her tongue past his full sensual lips into his hot mouth.
She wrapped her hand around the cold bottle and took a sip, the bubbles dancing across her tongue with potent flavor. But despite the delicious eye candy sitting in the next room, she couldn’t stop her mind from returning to the scene in the hall. She was sure she’d heard Ty swearing, which was totally unlike him. There were definitely hard feelings between these two men, though more on Ty’s side than Zeke’s, judging from Zeke’s reaction. Now how to get it out of them …
* * *
Zeke glanced away from the sports report on the news as Marie walked into the room, a beer bottle in each hand. She held one out to him and he took it and sipped deeply as she sat down beside him. He stared at her thoughtfully.
“So, I’ve been wondering … why are you attracted to a guy like me? I assume I’m not the usual type you go out with.”
“True. I usually go out with … you know … the Mr.-Nice-Guy types. Like Ty.”
His eyebrows jolted upward. “Mr. Nice Guy? Ty?”
Man, if she only knew. Ty had been one of the toughest guys in the old neighborhood. A real badass. Which is why they had been such great friends.
She tipped her head. “Yeah. You know. The dependable type. Someone you can talk to. A guy who listens to your problems.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You don’t think you could tell me about your problems?”
She pressed her lips together. “I didn’t mean…” She curled her legs up and pushed herself onto her knees, then leaned in close and kissed him. “Of course I do. It’s really more that … you have…” She shrugged, her lips turning up in an impish smile. “An edge. You’re sort of … unpredictable.”
“Admit it. You think I’m a badass, don’t you?” He flipped her onto her back, her sky blue eyes wide. He leaned down and consumed her lips in a fervent kiss. “All you women want is a bad-boy type.” He grinned. “Someone intent on dominating you, then walking away, leaving you brokenhearted. But deep inside, you believe you’ll tame his spirit and win him
forever.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss, then smiled up at him. “And if we don’t, we know it’ll be a wild ride. Well worth the risk.”
His smile faded and he dragged her against him, his tongue driving between her lips, consuming her mouth with deep plunging strokes, leaving her breathless.
“Are you absolutely sure about that, Marie?”
She stared back at him, her blue eyes wide and filled with uncertainty. He silently cursed himself, then drew her onto his lap and kissed her again, this time with just as much passion, but with a gentle pressure of his mouth on hers, while he stroked her back in soothing circles.
When he finally released her, she stared at him, dazed. “Uh … you’re certainly in a weird mood tonight.”
He laughed. “Yeah. I told you, I need to keep you on your toes.” He eased her off his lap onto the couch beside him, then took a sip of his beer. “I think you want to go out with me because you know I’ll show you some thrills in the sack.”
She grinned. “Well, that’s not such a bad thing, is it?”
A broad smile claimed his face. “No. It’s the best. Now, I think we should order Chinese for dinner.”
“Sure. I’ll go get the take-out menu for the place in the strip mall down the street.”
She returned a moment later and they selected several dishes, then Zeke called in the order.
“You didn’t ask them to deliver,” Marie said once he’d hung up.
Zeke stood up. “No, I’m going to go pick it up.”
“You’re not going now, are you? It’ll be a while before it’s ready and the place is just a block away.”
He smiled. “That’s okay, I’ll take the long way. I’m in the mood for a walk.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck before he could pull away. “You really are in a weird mood today.” She kissed him, spearing her delicious tongue between his lips, sending his cock pulsing with need.
Her sweet seductive manner almost made him forget his intent, but he drew back and unwrapped her hands from his neck, kissing them briefly before releasing them.
“Down, sweet thing. I’ll be back before you know it.”
* * *
Zeke walked toward Ty’s door and knocked. A moment later, the door opened and Ty glared at him with chocolate brown eyes.
In fact, both eyes were brown, which meant he was wearing colored contact lenses to hide the fact that one eye was actually soft green with gold specks. Zeke shouldn’t be surprised. Although the women had always found Ty’s odd eyes sexy as sin, Ty had always felt it made him … flawed. In the old days, he’d embraced his so-called flaws … odd eyes, anger, dominant nature … but Zeke had a feeling the new Ty had decided to clean up his act and eliminate the flaws he could … and hide the rest.
Too bad he was so totally misguided.
“What the hell do you want?” Ty said.
Five
Zeke stared hard at his friend. Ex-friend actually. But by Ty’s choice, not his. “To talk to you.”
“Forget it.”
Ty pushed the door to close it, but Zeke flattened his hand against it.
“I need to talk to you about Marie,” Zeke said.
The ice from Ty’s gaze chilled Zeke to the bone, but Ty finally stepped back, allowing Zeke to enter.
He glanced around at Ty’s apartment. Brown leather and dark oak furniture suited Ty. The colorful artwork was unexpected. A nice touch. And the place was exceptionally tidy. Same old Ty, in that respect, at least.
“Nice place.”
“What do you want, Zeke?”
Zeke faced Ty, who stared at him with a glower, his arms crossed.
“After that incident in the hall, it’s pretty clear you don’t want me seeing Marie.”
Ty just continued to glare.
Damn, after five years, clearly his anger was still fresh.
“Were you two involved?” Zeke asked.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but … no.”
Ty’s words echoed through Zeke’s mind.
You God damned son of a bitch, you’d better not be here to—
See Marie. Clearly, that was how Ty had intended to end that sentence.
Zeke gazed at him thoughtfully, then nodded to himself. “But you want to be.”
Ty clenched his jaw. “As I said, it’s none of your God damned business.”
Zeke drew in a deep breath, undeterred. “Do you want me to step aside?”
Ty stared at him, his glare turning to an assessing scowl.
“You think that’ll make up for what happened with Ashley?”
Zeke sighed. “I told you, I never tried to steal your girlfriend.”
“So you’ve said.”
Zeke’s chest clenched. And that’s what had hurt the most. That despite the close bond that had always existed between Ty and Zeke, and even though the woman had shamelessly thrown herself at Zeke, Ty hadn’t even listened to Zeke’s side. Ty had simply assumed the worst.
“So do you want me to step aside or not?” Zeke hated being in this fucking position. He didn’t want to let Marie go, but he respected Ty’s feelings and the close bond they’d once shared.
A bond he wished they still shared. Their close friendship had turned sour overnight after that threesome with Ashley … which she had suggested. And it seemed pretty clear to Zeke, she’d done it specifically to get an in with Zeke. She’d been ready to dump Ty, but she’d wanted a new boyfriend lined up first.
Zeke wondered if this was finally his chance to set things right between them. He and Ty shared too much to just let their friendship die. Too much history. Too much pain.
“What about Marie?” Ty asked. “Don’t you care how she feels about it?”
“Of course I care. But we haven’t been going out very long. She’ll get over it.”
* * *
Ty’s fists clenched at his sides. “Don’t do me any fucking favors.”
He couldn’t stand how callously the guy was willing to treat Marie. As much as he didn’t want Zeke anywhere near Marie, he didn’t want to see Marie hurt.
He also didn’t want Zeke thinking he could even begin to make up for the pain he’d caused.
Zeke shrugged. “Whatever.”
God damn it, had he created a monster when he’d pushed Zeke to try the role of sexual Dominant so many years ago? Ty had naturally leaned to that role and found it very liberating. He’d thought that it would help give Zeke, who’d had so little control over his life, a sense of power. Ty never would have suggested it if he hadn’t believed Zeke respected his women, and that he’d understand the responsibilities of the role; specifically, to give his partner pleasure. In return, he got the sense of power that would help him get past his feelings of helplessness.
But now, it seemed Zeke might have gone astray.
He tugged a card out of his inside pocket and tossed it on Ty’s coffee table. “If you change your mind, call me.”
Ty’s jaw clenched tightly and he picked up the card and crumpled it.
“Not going to happen.”
Zeke’s olive eyes turned cold and he strode out of the apartment.
* * *
Zeke opened the hard saddlebag on the back of his Harley, grabbed his helmet and snapped it on, then climbed on the big bike. The engine roared to life and he zoomed out of the parking lot, then dodged around the traffic and headed for the highway, needing to feel speed.
Damn it. The thought of letting Marie go burned through his gut. The woman had definitely insinuated herself into his deepest desires. But not quite as deep as his desire to mend things with Ty.
Ty had done so much for Zeke. He’d kept him motivated to stay in school, allowing Zeke to make something of himself. Now he owned his own business, doing something he loved. Restoring vintage cars. But more, Ty had kept Zeke on the straight and narrow. Stopped him from winding up in jail. Or worse, dead.
The bond he had with Ty was
too important to let anything stand in the way. Even Marie.
He took the ramp onto the highway, then accelerated, roaring past the other traffic.
Twenty minutes later, he parked his bike in the parking lot outside Marie’s building and carried the bag of Chinese food, and an extra little surprise he’d picked up for tonight, to the main door. Once in the lobby, he pressed the call button for Marie’s apartment.
“Hello?” Marie asked over the speaker.
“Hi, babe. It’s Zeke. Sorry to take so long.”
A loud buzzing sounded, indicating she’d released the door lock. Three minutes later, he got off the elevator on her floor. When he got to her door and knocked, he was extremely conscious of the fact that Ty was only yards away, in his apartment down the hall from Marie’s, but he tried to overwhelm that with thoughts of Marie. He might be letting her go, but he still had tonight to make some memories he’d never forget … for him and for her.
The door opened and Marie smiled at him.
“I thought you’d run out on me.”
At the sight of her wide, sky blue eyes gazing up at him, the silky waves of dark brown hair brushing her shoulders, her full heart-shaped lips, he wanted to say never. But he couldn’t do that. Because this would be the last time he saw her. The last time he would touch her. Suddenly, his heart ached with a desperate desire to pull her into his arms and keep her there forever.
It had been so long since he’d felt this kind of connection to a woman that he’d started to wonder if he was just a loner … meant to live out his days on his own, without a partner. And then Marie had come along and made him realize how wonderful life could be with the right person. How could he even consider letting her go?
As she stepped aside and let him in, then closed the door, he realized this was insane. He’d only known her for a week. It’s not like he’d fallen in love with her.
